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"Okay, okay,"I said, laughing. Everything else in my head seemed to lose its importance at that moment. I just wanted to make Jupiter happy, to enjoy her laughter. I shifted into my wolf form and ran afterher.

"Welcome,"Perry said. "She's roped youin."

"So, what are we playing?"

"Chase,"she said, hopping back and forth from forepaw to rear paw like a bucking horse. Then she took off into the trees, her ears flopping wildly as sheran.

"We'd better get her,"I said to Perry, and the two of us sprinted after her, making sure to stay just behind her. I growled playfully and leapt at her, purposefully sailing over her and rolling across the ground. She giggled, ran up to me, and tugged at my tail with herteeth.

"I'm gonna catch you!"Perry barked, and he pounced at her. She yelped and bolted away, twisting around the trees. Perry followed after, laughing as she evaded him. I got up and ran to catch up, ducking back and forth to avoid thetrees.

Perry nippedat the end of Jupiter's tail, and she shrieked and galloped faster. I charged ahead and yanked her up by the scruff of her neck, tossing her up into the air. I shifted back to my human form, and caught her as shefell.

"Got ya,"I said. She giggled and shifted back to human form and hugged me around my neck. Perry shifted back too, and mussed up Jupiter'shair.

"You're getting usedto your legs pretty quick. Aren't you,sweetie?"

"It'sfun to run with them," she said. "I can runfast."

"You sure can,"I said. "And you'll only get faster." I set her down, and she squeezed her arms around my leg and stood on myshoe.

"Run with me again, Papa?"she said. I blinked,surprised.

"Ah..."

"Arthur isn'tyour Papa yet, sweetie," Perry saidgently.

"Why not?"

"Because he needsto win his race in order for us to be able to move here for good. Once that happens, then he'll be yourPapa."

"What if he loses?"she asked, squeezing my legtighter.

"Iwon't,"I said, petting herhead.

"Iwantyou to be Papa now anyway," shesaid.

"Jupiter..."

"That's alright,"I said. "Do you want to call me Papa? Will that make you happy?" She looked up at me and nodded, and I crouched down to her level, taking her two little hands in mine. "Then you can call me Papa. I don't mind. And I want you to remember that no matter what happens, you can always think of me as Papa.Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good."

Istood up and mouthed,it'll be okay, to Perry. He looked worried, but reached out and touched myarm.

"Now,why don't you try and catch me, thistime?"

Jupiter grinned. "Okay!"

"Let's go,Perry. Try and catchme."

Iturned and sprinted away,shifting mid-step. Jupiter squealed and followed, with Perry closebehind.

That evening,Perry and I went to the White Tree Track for the first night of training and practice there. We pulled up to the front of the gigantic, glimmering arena, and I realized that neither of us had been back here since the day this all started. It'd been Kota's Teller ceremony, a day meant for good fortune and fate. It seemed like some of that fate altering magic had been passed to me. I took his hand, and the two of us stood in a silent reverence for a moment, both of us contemplating what had brought us here, and brought us backtogether.

"Amazing, isn't it?"he asked. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop asking myself what would have happened if things had gone just a little differently that day. If I hadn't seenyou."